CEO Numbers Network with Danielle Hayden

Kickstart Accounting, Inc.
  • 4.8 (33)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Making money and understanding your finances are two very different things. CEO Numbers Network is here to close that gap. Hosted by Danielle Hayden, former corporate CFO and CEO of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., every episode breaks down the financial strategy that most business owners never had access to. Profit, cash flow, real decision-making. The kind of thinking that actually moves a business forward.

  1. 5d ago

    The 3-Part IRS Test for Every Contractor on Your Team

    A signed contractor agreement only protects you if the way you work with that person matches it. The IRS has a clear test for this, and it's better to run it now than to find out during an audit. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I walk through the IRS three-part test for deciding whether someone on your team is a contractor or an employee. The three factors are behavioral control, financial control, and the working relationship. Getting the classification wrong can mean back payroll taxes and back benefits, plus penalties and interest. Since we're heading into the fourth quarter, this is also the time to plan for moving team members onto payroll as of January 1. You will learn how to test each working relationship against the three factors and how payroll taxes change for you and your team when a contractor moves onto payroll. If you have ever wondered whether someone on your team should be a contractor or an employee, this episode gives you a clear way to decide before year-end.   👉 Discover how our bookkeeping services can help you make team decisions with confidence: here   Key Takeaways 0:00 Intro 2:21 The Three-Part IRS Test 4:31 The Auditor Test and Next Steps 7:35 Tax Impacts and Payroll Changes 9:02 Recap and Final Advice    Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen next 👉 Why Your Contractor's W-9 Can't Wait Until January 👉 3 Questions That Separate a CEO From a Business Owner

  2. Sep 22

    Why Your Contractor's W-9 Can't Wait Until January

    Waiting until tax season to think about contractor paperwork is exactly what makes it so stressful. Every January, my team fields the same kind of call: a business owner needs a contractor's Social Security number, and that contractor already stopped answering. Find out what changed with 1099 reporting for 2026, including the new dollar threshold that determines when a contractor needs one. I break down what actually counts as a contractor for tax purposes, what a W-9 collects, and why the timing of gathering it matters more than most business owners realize. By the end, you'll know exactly what to check and request now, well before the January deadline. This is one of the few tasks where being early costs you nothing and being late costs you real money.   👉 Discover how our tax team can help you get ahead of IRS deadlines: ksataxpartners.com    Key Takeaways 00:00 The January 1099 Scramble 00:43 Contractors and 1099 Series 02:26 New 2026 Contractor Threshold 03:09 What a W9 Collects 04:52 When to Request a W9 06:21 Building Your 1099 List    Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 The 30-Day Burnout Diagnosis Every CEO Needs to Run 👉 3 Questions That Separate a CEO From a Business Owner

  3. Sep 15

    3 Questions That Separate a CEO From a Business Owner

    Revenue and team size get the attention, but neither tells you if you're running your business like a CEO. It comes down to three specific numbers, and whether you know them without guessing. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I get into three questions I ask every CEO about her own numbers: her year to date profit and profit percentage, what her business owns compared to what it owes, and whether her cash reserves are enough. I also cover three bookkeeping errors our team sees during onboarding that throw off each answer: draws coded as payroll or duplicated revenue, old loans still sitting on the balance sheet years after they were paid off, and point of sale systems that double record a sale with QuickBooks. I explain why a clean QuickBooks dashboard or a quick AI summary can't replace an actual review of your books. You will learn to recognize the errors that distort your numbers, and how to make decisions from data instead of a gut feeling. If you've ever felt confident about your numbers until someone asked a specific question, this episode shows you where that confidence was coming from.   👉 Find out if your books are accurate here.   Key Takeaways 0:00 Introduction to the CEO Test 1:25 Question One: Year-to-Date Profit 3:02 Question Two: Assets Versus Liabilities 4:31 Question Three: Cash Reserves 7:11 The Dangers of AI and Misleading Data 8:47 How to Get Accurate Books   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 The 30-Day Burnout Diagnosis Every CEO Needs to Run  👉 How to Know If You Can Afford to Hire Your First Employee

  4. Sep 8

    The 30-Day Burnout Diagnosis Every CEO Needs to Run

    A team member once asked me how we help clients who show up to their financial review calls completely burnt out. My answer surprised even me, and it led to a 30-day exercise I now recommend to every business owner I work with. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I talk about why burnout gets misdiagnosed so often in business ownership, and I walk through a real client example of growth mode colliding with family obligations. I also push back on trending labels like burnout and soft girl era, and I share five specific strategies for reframing pressure into something you actually have control over, starting with a 30-day energy audit. You will learn how to tell the difference between real exhaustion and simply being in a demanding season of your business, how to delegate what was never yours to carry in the first place, and how to make decisions from intention instead of guilt. If you have ever labeled yourself as burnt out without actually checking what was going on underneath it, this episode will give you a clearer way to look at it.   👉 Discover how our CFO services can help you build a plan around the season you're actually in: here.   Key Takeaways 00:47 Burnout Isn't a Badge 10:14 Step 1: Run Your Energy Audit 11:00 Step 2: Delegate What Isn't Yours 11:54 Step 3: Build a Real Budget 12:24 Step 4: Do the Mindset Work 13:00 Step 5: Act Like the CEO   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 How to Know If You Can Afford to Hire Your First Employee 👉 The 4 Step CEO Reset Method for a Stronger Fourth Quarter

  5. Sep 1

    How to Know If You Can Afford to Hire Your First Employee

    Your profit and loss statement can look fine, and your stomach can still drop when you think about hiring. I know that feeling, because it's exactly where I was the night I hired my first employee. I walk through the three methods I use to decide if a business can afford to hire: the look back method, the averages method, and the look forward budgeting method. I cover how profit and cash flow can tell two different stories, how much cash to have saved before hiring, and the real costs of bringing on a new employee beyond the paycheck. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I share exactly how to make that call with real numbers. You will learn what to look at before you hire, how to protect your cash flow, and how to move forward with confidence instead of guessing. If you have ever looked at a healthy profit number and still felt too scared to hire, this episode gives you the math to decide with confidence.   👉 Discover how our CFO services can help you build a hiring budget you can trust: here   Key Takeaways 00:00 Why You Should Hire Help 00:44 Danielle's First Hire Story 03:10 Method One: The Look Back 04:20 Method Two: Calculate Your Cash 06:54 Method Three: Build Your Budget 09:00 How Much Cash To Save 11:30 The Real Cost Of Hiring 12:22 Final Encouragement To Hire Confidently    Resources 📊 Download the free hiring worksheet from this episode. 💰 Build your own 12 month budget with the free template.    📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 The 4 Step CEO Reset Method for a Stronger Fourth Quarter 👉 Can AI Actually Replace Your Bookkeeper?

  6. Aug 25

    The 4 Step CEO Reset Method for a Stronger Fourth Quarter

    You made it through summer, and now the fourth quarter is staring you down. The instinct is to catch up on everything you let slide, but that's exactly what backfires. This episode shares the four step reset I use every fall to close out the year with focus instead of overwhelm. It's built for business owners who come out of summer feeling behind and try to fix everything in the business at once, which usually backfires by January. Instead of chasing every goal, this framework helps you pick one clear priority and build the rest of the quarter around it. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I walk through the exact reset I use every September before the fourth quarter hits. You will learn how to reset your CEO mindset, get clarity on your numbers, plan your spending with intention, and know what to do with the ideas that don't fit right now. If you have ever felt profitable on paper but still couldn't find the cash in your bank account, this episode shows you exactly where to look.   👉 Discover how our bookkeeping services can help you close out this year with clarity: here   Key Takeaways 00:51 The Four-Step Fall Reset Framework 02:54 Step One: Reset Your CEO Mindset 05:18 Step Two: Get Clarity On Numbers 07:20 What Your Balance Sheet Reveals 08:40 Step Three: Plan Q4 With Intention 11:11 Step Four: Build Your Wait List   Resources 📥 Download our free mid-year tax check-in checklist: here 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen next 👉 The S Corp Move to Stop Overpaying the IRS 👉 Can AI Actually Replace Your Bookkeeper?

  7. Aug 18

    Can AI Actually Replace Your Bookkeeper?

    I ran our own business financials through AI three different ways and got three completely different answers. What that revealed about trusting AI with your numbers might change how you use it in your own business. I share what happened when I fed our real financials into AI and changed only the tone of my prompt, from neutral to positive to negative, and watched the same numbers produce three completely different financial narratives. I talk about why AI won't push back on you unless you ask it to, and what that means if you're using it to make real financial decisions. I also share a story about an AI-run bookkeeping firm that undercut our pricing by two dollars, and why that pushed me to think about what business owners are actually paying for when they choose a financial partner. I close with two questions I think every business owner should ask before trusting anyone, human or AI, with their numbers. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I run an experiment on my own business and get honest about what it revealed. You will learn why a prompt is never neutral, what to watch for if you use AI on your own financials, and two questions to ask before trusting any financial partner with your numbers. If you have ever wondered whether the financial advice you're getting from AI is actually accurate, or just telling you what you want to hear, this episode will change how you think about it.   👉 Discover how our bookkeeping team can give your numbers the human judgment AI can't: here   Key Takeaways 00:36 Running an AI financial experiment 02:36 A positive prompt skews AI's read 03:02 A negative prompt flips the story 04:19 AI mirrors your mood, not reality 06:10 The $2 AI bookkeeping ad 11:46 Two questions before you hire    Resources 📥 Download our free mid-year tax check-in checklist: here 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   👉 Why Your Tax Bill Keeps Growing (Even When You Pay On Time)  👉 The S Corp Move to Stop Overpaying the IRS

  8. Aug 11

    The S Corp Move to Stop Overpaying the IRS

    You've built a profitable business, and you're still handing more of it to the IRS than you need to. The real reason usually traces back to your structure. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I'm continuing our mid-year tax check-in series with a deep dive into business structure. Profitable business owners often keep paying self-employment tax long after their structure has stopped making sense. I break down the three signs that tell you you're ready for an S corp and the reasonable compensation rule the IRS requires once you make that switch. I also share a client story about what it actually took to get her ready, because the profit number alone wasn't enough. You will learn the three signs that tell you you're ready for an S corp, plus the reasonable compensation rule the IRS enforces once you make the switch. If you have ever wondered why your CPA never brought up an S corp, or worried you might be underpaying yourself the wrong way, this episode shows you exactly where to look.   👉 Discover how our tax team can help you know if you're ready for an S corp: here   Key Takeaways 00:00 The cost of delaying decisions 1:54 Why self-employment tax costs more 3:19 How S Corp changes taxes 5:02 The $75,000 net profit benchmark 6:40 Why finances must stay separate 7:53 The reasonable compensation rule    Resources 📥 Download our free mid-year tax check-in checklist: here 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 Why Your Tax Bill Keeps Growing (Even When You Pay On Time) 👉 Your CPA Did Everything Right, and It's Still Costing You

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4.8
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About

Making money and understanding your finances are two very different things. CEO Numbers Network is here to close that gap. Hosted by Danielle Hayden, former corporate CFO and CEO of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., every episode breaks down the financial strategy that most business owners never had access to. Profit, cash flow, real decision-making. The kind of thinking that actually moves a business forward.

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